The People's Music from William Davenport on Vimeo.
Arvo Zylo is featured in two documentaries by William Davenport; "The People's Music" and "Noise Nation". He was interviewed and filmed performing at St. Petersburg Noise Fest in 2014. Davenport has also done documentaries on Cassette Culture and the 80s industrial act, Hunting Lodge, as well as a documentary on Autism, among other things. He was head of the noise zine "Unsound" and performed under the name "Problemist" starting in 1982. To buy DVDs, go here.
It was exhibited at Echo Park Film Center, Los Angeles. Their open screening was May 5th. More from Jason Ogawa here.
The new release by Ataraxic Ataxia was reviewed by (and big thanks go to) Traumatic Static. The album is available at nopartofit.bandcamp.com.
Shadow Sea by Ataraxic Sea is an interesting release which focuses
more on a dreary classical ambient style. The duo Dominick Dufner
and Nicole Pizzato did a marvelous job creating a very interesting
mix of traditional string usage alongside noise/ambient equipment.
This release sees to create more of a neo-classical style with some
noise overlaps mixed together quite interestingly. From the beginning
of the release, the listener gets a sort of "orchestrated descent"
into madness. This album conveys a very brooding atmosphere; furthermore,
it can be very chilling and yet relaxing. Let us explore the overall release
in detail.
Au Claire De Le La Lune- Has a very interesting structure to it, instead
of starting with a huge thrash of intense drones, it eases into it
throughout the song. It’s sort of like a beautiful piece you’d hear
in the next modern day century horror flick starring some killer ghost.
No, you won’t necessarily see much resemblance to an Atrax Morgue track
on this one, but in all honesty, it is a pretty damn eerie track to start
off with. I like the classical clashing of key notes thrusting its way into
the ominous scratchy static at the 1:45 mark. Yes, I say this was a calm release
to lay back and zone out to. White buffalo is a live track extending over 9 mins
of raw violin and noise thrown into the blender to the audience. I can easily say
this one is my favorite track on the release. This is where the Gothic undertones
seem to come into play because of the neoclassical experimentation. Since this is
a live track, one gets the raw piercing electronic masterpiece. A Masochist’s
Heaven is actually pretty ironic because it is actually very peaceful. The work
is almost akin to something you’d hear on a Premature Ejaculation release but
except a bit grittier. Pretty strange minimalism infused with a low harsh sound
going on here but very refreshing. Now by the fourth track, one’s attention is
caught immediately by the rhythmic start and progression of the loop that kicks
in throughout the song. In combination with the violins, the fourth track is
almost dance able as it slowly transcends into a sort of more beautiful chaotic
orchestra by the six-minute mark. The 5th and 6th tracks focuses more on an
immense morbid atmosphere as opposed to the previous tracks on the album.
Listening to the track “…surely must be hell” one can get the overwhelming
sense of dread washing over them because of the wonderful violin structure.
I must say, even the collaboration of screeching drones gives off a haunting
vibe; one could say it is like taking some darker version of Throbbing Gristle
or Einsturzende Neubauten and blending it with some pretty experimental sense
of depressing stuff. This track exudes a sort of dark cabaret vibe thanks to
the neoclassical elements going on.
I must say, this masterpiece surprised me and I listened
to it at least 3-4 times today to soak in the Gothic,
harsh ambiance. If you are into a different direction
of noise/ambient and enjoy the traditional usage of
classic string arrangements, give it a listen:
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